Giving Myself a Break

Facing the reality that I don’t have enough time.

Image created via Midjourney

I recall a quote I saw floating around Pinterest that was something to the effect of:

Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “It’s not a priority.

The idea was to re-frame why some things get pushed to the bottom of the list. Laundry not done? “It’s not a priority.” Probably true. Probably I prioritized many, many things above laundry.

But what I’m facing now is truly a version of “I don’t have time.”

I cannot replace anything in my day with “It’s not a priority” and find that I can push it to the back burner. Unfortunately, solving for x in this equation means that writing is the sacrifice in the fight against time. Writing is my therapy, my outlet, my energy, and my goals — but it is not my livelihood, a requirement of parenting, or a viable tradeoff for sleep.

This week, for example, what could I give up in exchange for writing? My paying job has substantial demands on my brainpower and skill set right now, the timing of which is outside of my control.

I have three kids going in opposite directions during the day — camp and daycare — that involve lengthy drop-off and pickup routines (if only writing while driving were possible…) I am working out the details of…